Members of District 3650, Seoul, Korea, called out appeals for blood donation to passers-by in a campaign to gather blood donors at Seoul Plaza in front of the City Hall.
District 3650 started a blood donation campaign in 2005 in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of Rotary International, says Young-KooPark, chair of the International Service Committee, Seoul Joongang Rotary Club and chair of the district's Blood Donation Service Committee for 2006-08.
The district's blood donor drive runs for a period of six-seven months at a time in conjunction with the Korean Red Cross. Young-Koo Park says, that the clubs are encouraged to participate in the blood donation program at the monthly meetings with the ADG's (Assistant District Governors), each of whom has six-seven clubs. The district has 86 clubs with about 2,850 members.
Since the start , the blood donor drive in District 3650, covering the northern part ofSeoul, hasgrown rapidly, the statistics show:
Year | Participants | Actual donors | Ration |
2005 | 556 | 264 | 47.7% |
2006 | 5,106 | 3,674 | 71.9% |
2007 | 5,274(Till July 11th) | 3,697 | 70.1% |
2007 Target | 9,500(Till Dec. 31st) | 6,600 | 70% |
According to the 2006-07 District Governor, Soon Pyo Chyun, South Korea has had to import blood every year, adding that "we want to have a strong leadership on blood donation." In 2005, South Korea imported blood for the amount of 29 million US dollars and for 29.7 million dollars worth of blood in 2006
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